Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25: How Indian pacers exposed Australia's batting frailty 

India came and conquered Perth emphatically as Australia were rolled over in the first Test match of the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy by a huge 295-run margin. 

In their first innings, the Australian batters folded like a deck of cards in front of some exquisite red-ball bowling—at one point reeling at 47/6—before some rear-guard action took their total to 104, 46 behind India’s first-innings total.

The Indians, led by the swashbuckling opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored a brilliant 161 in this debut Test in Australia, supported by a strong 77 by KL Rahul, and boosted by Virat Kohli’s 30th century, attained a mammoth 533-run lead. The Aussies, in reply, were decimated to 12/3 inside five overs, and Travis Head (89) and Alex Carey (36) only delayed the inevitable just that bit longer as India ultimately bowled out Australia for 235.

It took India less than 110 overs in total to bowl out Australia twice. 

However, looking back at Australia’s recent home series against the West Indies as well as a Test series in New Zealand, their collapse against India looks more like a continuation of a worrisome pattern rather than a blip in performance. 

The cracks begin to emerge

Against the West Indies, Australia batted second and posted a total of 283 in reply to the visitors’ 188. However, apart from a brilliant 119 by Head and a resilient 45 by Usman Khawaja, the entire top and middle order failed to produce any innings of substance, with West Indies debutant Shamar Joseph troubling the Aussies in particular. 

Although Australia did manage to win the first Test comfortably, the fragility in their batting order was glaring. Then came the second Test, a day-night affair at the Gabba, where the Windies posted a commendable 311 in the first innings. In reply, Australia found themselves 24/4 by the end of the fifth over as Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph ran through their top and middle order. 

Some counter-attacking cricket from the Australian lower order saw Pat Cummins declare the innings at 289/9 and use the pink ball under the lights with his bowling unit’s full might, and kudos to the Australian seamers as they bowled out the West Indies in 72.3 overs for 193, giving themselves a target of 216 to chase down and win the series. 

Unlike their first innings, Australia were cruising at 113/2 this time round, with Steve Smith batting at 23 and Cameroon Green leading the charge with 42 off 72 balls. Then came Shamar Joseph and turned the game on its head, cleaning up both Green and Head in successive deliveries. Over the next 15 overs, Australia collapsed to 175/8, needing 31 runs with just two wickets in hand. In the end, the West Indies registered a historic eight-run victory—their first win in Australian soil in over 24 years. 

Papering over the cracks 

After wrapping up both the ODI (3-0) and T20I (2-1) series against the West Indies, the Kangaroos made the trip across to neighbours New Zealand for three T20Is and two Tests. Following a 3-0 drubbing of the hosts in the T20Is, Cummins and his men sealed a 2-0 wins in the Tests as well, thought it was anything but a smooth sail.

Batting first in the first Test, Australia were at one point struggling at 176/6 before an unbeaten 174 from Green took them to a competitive 383. In their second innings, Australia collapsed from 127/4 to 164/10 in a matter 13 overs. 

The same pattern continued in the second Test at Christchurch as Australia were bowled out for 256 in 68 overs in the first innings. While chasing a total of 279 in the second innings, the Australian top order collapsed to 34/4 before some rear-guard action from Mitchell Marsh (80) and Carey (98*) took them to a thee-wicket victory. 

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The warning signs 

If we look at how the batters in Australia’s current Border-Gavaskar Trophy squad have fared this year in Tests, the readings are grim, to say the least. 

Including Nathan McSweeney’s two innings from the first Test in Perth, Australia’s top seven have played a combined total of 60 innings. The likes of Khawaja, Smith, Marnus Labuschange, Head, Marsh, and Carey have managed a total of eight 50+ individual scores among themselves and one solitary hundred (scored by Head). That’s alarming. 

Moreover, none of these batters has accumulated more than 300 runs in their last ten Test innings. Smith has 188 runs, with his 91* against the West Indies being his solitary 50+ contribution. Labuschange has 123 runs; except his 90 against New Zealand in Christchurch, the 30-year-old has failed to cross the ten-run mark in all nine other occasions. 

Furthermore, this is one of the oldest Australian Test teams in history. For a group of players that has stayed together for the best part of over half a decade, there are certain individuals who look past their prime or are in some of the worst phases of their careers.

Moreover, the recent collapses and inconsistency speak of a wider issue in the Australian camp than just age. Like most international teams, Australia are struggling to strike a balance between Test and T20I cricket. After playing the two-Test series against New Zealand, they are playing India after an eight-month gap, though they played a lot of ODI and T20I games in between. 

In their last ten Test innings, the Aussies have only batted for more than 100 overs once, which too was followed by a collapse in the second innings of that very Test. 

Thus, age, technical frailty, temperament, and adaptability are some of the key aspects that stand out in assessing Australia’s recent struggles in red ball-cricket.